Toodoggone not up to Iskut River

The Toodoggone area north of Smithers, B.C., will place a distant second to the Skyline-Iskut River region in terms of expenditures and exploration activity this year. Cheni Gold Mines’ (TSE) Lawyers property is scheduled to begin production this October and Paul Girard, president, confirms the project is “well ahead of the original schedule and cost levels remained within the latest estimates.”

Road access was maintained through the winter months and final gravelling work on the access road is currently under way, he notes. Underground development in waste, including access crosscuts to sub-levels and the ore pass system have been completed.

About 50,000 tons of ore should be stockpiled on surface by the fourth quarter for milling; full mining at 550 tons per day should get under way in early January, 1989, “assuming a smooth commissioning and no unforeseen problems during the start-up,” he states.

Reserves on the Lawyers property in all categories total some 1.9 million tons grading 0.198 oz gold and 7.1 oz silver. Sufficient funds are on hand to complete the project, he emphasizes.

Energex Minerals has commissioned Wright Engineers of Vancouver to complete a feasibility study for the company’s Al project where in situ gold reserves (all categories) total 1.9 million tons grading 0.16 oz gold per ton. A 6-month extension (to Nov 25, 1988) has been approved for the exercis e of share purchase warrants issued Aug 28, 1987, as part of a private placement to 11 overseas investors. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share at $1.43 before the expiry date. Exercise of the warrants will net the company $4.6 million which Energex says “represents a substantial portion of project funding.”

A major drill program is scheduled for the Al project this year with planned expenditures of $1.5 million. The program’s objective will be to build reserves for both heap leaching and milling ores. Regulatory approval has been granted for a $250,000 private placement of flow-through shares at an issue price of 78 cents through CMP 1988 Resource Partnership and Co. Flow-through funds on hand for this year’s exploration program now total $1.5 million.

Multinational Resources (VSE) is considering driving a decline into the B zone discovery at its Baker mine property. The zone hosts reserves of 50,000 tons grading 0.58 oz gold (undiluted). Utilizing the Baker plant for custom milling ore from other properties including the Energex, Golden Rule and International Shasta, is being considered apparently. There is exploration potential elsewhere on the property which no doubt will have to be addressed.

During last year’s field season, Golden Rule Resources (TSE) and Manson Creek Resources (VSE), completed a diamond drilling and backhoe trenching program on their Mets project. The program was designed to firm up reserves in the A zone and test several other drill targets on the property. Total expenditures last year were $1.3 million, bringing cumulative expenditures to date to $2 million.

In 1987, approximately 20,000 ft of drilling was completed in 40 bore holes, most of it in the A zone which has a mineral inventory of 158,500 tons grading 0.33 oz gold. This zone has been offset by post mineralization faulting which consumed a lot of their drilling budget last season. A continuation of A zone type mineralization has been located on the north side of a major cross fault and this will be drill tested this year.

The joint venture has proposed a 32,000-ft drill program this season to test known gold zones; and a production feasibility study is possible this fall, they add.

Esso Minerals Canada has an agreement with International Shasta Resources (VSE) which could see it earn a 73% interest in Shasta’s Toodoggone area property by spending $10 million by 1995. The target is an epithermal gold-silver setting located in the early to middle Jurassic Toodoggone volcanics. Preliminary drilling was so encouraging last year that a major program is planned in 1987.

St. Joe Canada and Nexus Resource Corp. are joint venturing a property in the Toodoggone area which will probably see additional exploration this season following encouraging results last year.